Others - Completed - Shrine of Tails [Final] [SHEDUSoft]

I really wanted to like this one.

First up the writing is...Well it's certainly something. It has a very roundabout and strange quality to it, not so much a translation or editing issue (though there are some errors as far as editing goes as well) and more a very 'artsy' vibe. Personally I really enjoyed it, the writing sold a strange and almost ethereal atmosphere that is absolutely helped along by the art and the music. But I could very easily see how it could push away readers.

The art is, as mentioned, quite nice throughout, and though the music doesn't stand out it does do a good job of pushing the game's atmosphere.

The actual gameplay is rock paper scissors which is an absolutely terrible thing to base a game around, especially in the raw, straightforward form it's presented in here. You push a button and have a 1/3 chance to deal damage, it's not good.

The fatal flaw is that the sex scenes aren't really 'scenes' as much as they are '2 or so CGs with maybe a string of nearly incomprehensible dialogue holding them together' The game's deliberately odd tone does not mesh well with the smut and the scenes are undeveloped to a painful and ruinous degree.

If the combat had any player agency to it and the sex scenes were fleshed out this game could be great, but absent those two things a very solid atmosphere and good art aren't enough to sustain the experience.

[Review of Final version on 11/16/2022]

It's not Ren'py, but it sure tastes like it, and I am not impressed.

Shrine of Tails is an adventure game set in some sort of shrine placed between dimensions. The shrine is a hub for monster girls who really like playing rock-paper-scissors and saying weird things during sex.

The artwork is great. No complaints there. My biggest gripes are two-fold.

Firstly, rock-paper-scissors has never made a good combat mechanic. Completely randomized chances of success just guarantees that players will be wasting their time. A game is not a game without the illusion of player control. There's no true risk assessments or balancing of resources to do as a player when you have exactly the same odds of success no matter what, and that's boring as all hell to sit through.

While it's possible that there might be coded strategies to each girl's fight, without any form of feedback to know as much, it's all trial and error until the end. That's not good game design, it's just annoying.

Secondly, the story/plot/dialogue do nothing to make the sex better. It's all stilted and vague, and no one has any personality. The sex scenes also end way too quickly for it to mean anything. All I came away with is the impression that the developer was trying to be artsy fartsy with the women saying weird shit about "feeling your power", but it just comes across as pretentious and cringy. I don't want high-school slice of life weeaboo garbage that prattles on and on endlessly, but at least describe how the characters move during sex, or have them say something more interesting other than "Oh darling, you have so much power!"

I can't even fap to the nice artwork because of the shitty game attached to it. I pray someone just rips the CG assets and posts them somewhere else.